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Greta Speaking at Stanford and in Texas

UPDATE: My October speaking events at Stanford and in Texas have been cancelled, due to my father’s death. I am hoping to reschedule for a later date; if I do, I’ll announce it on this blog.UPDATE: The event at Southern Methodist University in University Park, TX is now open to the public! Some of the other previously un-announced details for the Texas tour have now been announced as well, including talk topics.

Hi, all. I have some speaking gigs coming up in October: one at Stanford, and then several in Texas. The details of the Texas tour are still being worked out, and some additional events may be added to it — but I wanted to get the word out now about the confirmed events, so people who want to come hear me speak could start making plans.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Not all the Texas events are open to the public. In fact, of the currently confirmed events, right now only one of them is. It’s likely that at least one and possibly two other Texas events will be added to the tour… but right now, the only confirmed event that’s open to non-students is the one at Arlington. Just so’s you know. Two of the Texas events are now open to the public — the UTA event at Arlington, and the Southern Methodist University at University Park.

CITY: Stanford, CA
DATE: Wednesday, October 3
TIME: 7:00pm
LOCATION: Stanford University, Serra Mall, Building 420, room 041 (map)
EVENT/ HOSTS: Humanist Community at Stanford and Atheists, Humanists, and Agnostics (AHA!) @ Stanford. Also sponsored by the Graduate Student Council and the ASSU Undergraduate Senate. Rsvp on Facebook.
TOPIC: Coming Out: How To Do It, How to Help Each Other Do It, And Why?
SUMMARY: Coming out is the most powerful political act atheists can take. But coming out can be difficult and risky. What are some specific, practical, nuts-and-bolts strategies we can use: to come out of the closet, to support each other in coming out, and to make the atheist community a safer place to come out into? What can atheists learn about coming out from the LGBT community and their decades of coming-out experience — and what can we learn from the important differences between coming out atheist and coming out queer?
COST: Free and open to the public

CITY: Dallas, TX
DATE: Wednesday, October 10
TIME: 4:30 pm
LOCATION: Townview Magnet Center (high school) – exact location TBA
EVENT/ HOSTS: Secular Thinkers Alliance at TMC
TOPIC: Why Are You Atheists So Angry?
SUMMARY: The atheist movement is often accused of being driven by anger. What are so many atheists so angry about? Is this anger legitimate? And can anger be an effective force behind a movement for social change?
COST: TBA — probably free but NOT open to the public

CITY: University Park, TX
DATE: Wednesday, October 10
TIME: 7:00
LOCATION: Southern Methodist University – exact location TBA Umpherey-Lee 241
EVENT/ HOSTS: Secular Humanists of SMU. Co-sponsored by the Fellowship of Freethought — Dallas.
TOPIC: Resistance Is Not Futile: Is Arguing About Religion Worth It?
SUMMARY: Many atheists think that trying to persuade people out of religion never works, and simply alienates people. But debating believers about their beliefs can be effective — in changing people’s minds about religion, as well as in achieving other goals of the atheist community. When does it makes sense to debate about religion? How should we go about it? And what should our expectations be for what these debates can accomplish?
COST: Free Suggested donation of $5 – and now open to the public!

CITY: Arlington, TX
DATE: Thursday, October 11
TIME: 6:00 pm
LOCATION: University of Texas at Arlington, Bluebonnet Ballroom
EVENT/ HOSTS: Freethinkers of UTA, co-sponsored by Metroplex Atheists. RSVP on Facebook.
TOPIC: Atheism and Sexuality
SUMMARY: The sexual morality of traditional religion tends to be based, not on solid ethical principles, but on a set of taboos about what kinds of sex God does and doesn’t want people to have. And while the sex-positive community offers a more thoughtful view of sexual morality, it still often frames sexuality as positive by seeing it as a spiritual experience. What are some atheist alternatives to these views? How can atheists view sexual ethics without a belief in God? And how can atheists view sexual transcendence without a belief in the supernatural?
COST: Students free, non-students $10, open to the public

Hope to see you there!

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Thank you for letting us know, and thank you for continuing to travel and speak while your personal life is difficult. It will mean a lot to me to have a chance to hear you, you have really inspired me since I came out as an atheist last year.